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Grizzly Bears on Vancouver Island
Grizzly Bears on Vancouver Island
Grizzly Bears on Vancouver Island
Grizzly Bears on Vancouver Island
Grizzly Bears on Vancouver Island

Grizzly Bear Viewing on Vancouver Island

Bear watching on Vancouver Island is one of the many recreational activities annually, attracting many visitors. There are two bear subspecies on Vancouver Island, which has prepared the opportunity to view these gigantic land creatures along with family or friends. Grizzly bears are the rare bear subspecies on Vancouver Island; that is why many people are looking for a tour operator who promises them the chance for actual grizzly bear watching. In other words, a grizzly bear watching trip in which they can encounter the brown bears of BC for real.
Grizzly bears aren’t originally from Vancouver Island. However, they live in abundance in the Great Bear Rainforest. Grizzly bears are great swimmers, and during the past years, some of them have migrated to Vancouver Island through the water. There have also been some rumors that claim grizzly bears have been sighted on the Island. These rumors have raised the curiosity in people to go grizzly bear watching just to gaze upon these majestic brown creatures of BC.
After hibernation, male grizzly bears weigh around 225 kg, and females weigh about 130 kg. Before Hibernation, grizzly bears start eating more than usual to store for the long sleep they have ahead of them. When bears are eating right before their Hibernation is one of the times to go grizzly bear watching.
In the following, we are going to introduce you to everything you must know in advance to your grizzly bear watching adventure on Vancouver Island. Stay with us!



Grizzlies: Diet, Habitat, and Lifespan

Grizzly bears are huge and come in a variety of colors ranging from a light tan (nearly white) to a dark brown. They have a prominent shoulder hump, a dished face, and short, rounded ears. The hump is a mass of muscles that link to the bear's backbone and provide additional digging strength. Grizzly bears can weigh over 700 pounds (315 kilograms). Males are larger than females, with males weighing up to 1,700 pounds (770 kilograms). A big woman can weigh up to 800 pounds (360 kilograms).
Grizzly bears are adaptive, and they will eat insects, a wide variety of flowering plants, roots, tubers, grasses, berries, small rodents, fish, carrion (roadkill and other dead animals), various meat sources (e.g. young and weakened animals), and even human rubbish if it is readily available.
In Alaska, the oldest known wild inland grizzly lived to be roughly 34 years old; the oldest known coastal bear lived to be 39, but most grizzlies die in their first year. Grizzlies in captivity have survived up to 44 years. Grizzly Bears have an average lifespan of 20-30 years in the wild.


Best Places to See Grizzlies on Vancouver Island

As already mentioned, grizzly bears are rare on Vancouver Island. However, if you have grizzly bear watching on your bucket list and you’ve already planned to come to Vancouver Island, don’t worry! Although there aren’t many grizzly bears on Vancouver Island, our tours to places such as Great Bear Rainforest, Knight Inlet, Rivers Inlet, and Bute Inlet let you get lost in between grizzlies while checking the grizzly bear watching on your bucket list. The departure part of the tours is Port McNeill, Port Hardy, and Telegraph Cove. The only way through which you can get into the grizzly heaven is the ocean; therefore, you can enjoy much pristine scenery along the way to grizzly bear locations. For Bute Inlet bear watching though, the departure point will be Campbell River. Bute Inlet Grizzly bears are waiting for visitors.

Some of the grizzly bears may have swum to Northern coastal parts of Vancouver Island through the years, but their population isn’t that much that tours can be defined for grizzly bear viewing.






Best Time to See Grizzly Bears on Vancouver Island

Regardless of the subspecies, the peak time for bear watching on Vancouver Island is before and after hibernation, especially before hibernation since bears are feeding. Grizzly bear watching tours usually operate from mid-August to mid-October. Grizzly bears on Vancouver Island typically hibernate from November till the beginning of April. As mentioned before, grizzlies will lose 30 to 40 percent of their weight, so, for the best, wait till they regain the lost weight back because nobody would enjoy watching skinny grizzlies.
Since grizzly bears are rare on Vancouver Island, it can be claimed that hiring a professional and experienced guide is a must in this regard. An experienced bear watching tour guide can efficiently operate your journey at the right time and, of course, in the right place. Viewing rare wildlife such as grizzlies is no easy job. So, leave it to the professionals.

Grizzly Bear Watching Tours' Cost

Grizzly bear watching is available in Great Bear Rainforest, Knight Inlet, Rivers Inlet, and Bute Inlet. The easiest way to get to these bear watching locations is through the ocean. Two things happen; first of all, it is time-consuming, which by the way, isn’t something wrong for someone who loves nature and wildlife watching. Second, it is more expensive than black bear watching, which happens on the island itself. Well, although grizzly bear viewing is a little bit costly, if you have it on your must-to-do-before-I-die list, start saving money and don’t miss this excellent opportunity for the world.
Our prices for grizzly bear watching tours on Vancouver Island start from $495 per person. You can also use our services (e.g., meals) to make your grizzly bear watching experience even more delightful. Anyhow, if you have any questions regarding the cost of grizzly bear tours, please feel free to contact our experts.

Book Your Grizzly Safari

Although Vancouver Island is not one of the lands grizzles inhabit in North America, We have a great offer for bc grizzly safaris.

Amazing Facts to Know about Grizzly Bears

• Grizzly bears stand up on their hind feet to be dominant when they feel threatened. So, for the best try not to anger one during your grizzly bear watching tour.
• Grizzlies are not social and you may see a male walking all alone by itself.
• Grizzly bears are acknowledged as carnivorous, while they are omnivorous and one of the pristine things you can be blessed with while on a grizzly bear watching tour is the brown creatures feeding on fish or berries.
• If you encounter a mom grizzly and its cubs follow them to where you are allowed. Watching how the mother treats her kids is so cute
• Warning! Just follow the female grizzly and its cubs. DO NOT ever disturb them. The weak spot of a grizzly mama is its offspring. If you approach the cubs, you may increase the danger of the grizzlies attacking you.

The Best Grizzly Bear Viewing Tour Guide

Bears and nature are inseparable. On the other hand, the nature on Vancouver Island is so vast that even indigenous people aren’t entirely dominant on every part of it. So, if you don’t want to get lost in it, it’s best to ask a wildlife viewing tour operator to introduce you to an experienced guide.
But let’s elaborate on the reasons why it is best to have a guide for your bear watching trips on Vancouver Island:

1. They have guided too many visitors and have enough knowledge regarding the possible grizzly bear watching locations.
2. They can help you learn how to behave around the grizzly bears and make the most of it while viewing them.
3. If you want to experience grizzly bear viewing on the water and you don’t know how to paddle, well, bear watching tour operators are here to give you what you want.
4. Grizzly bear watching tour guides have guided so many people through this magnificent journey, and they know when is the best time to view some bears amongst the dense trees of the forest.
5. Last but not least, you can benefit from the services they provide for the convenience of your grizzly bear watching journey.

With regard to grizzly bear watching, asking a tour operator to guide your bear watching journey is merely a must since, as mentioned before, you should first get to the grizzly bear watching heaven through the ocean. First, you need a guide to take you to the locations and then know where to bring you that you can enjoy watching grizzlies and then the safety of your journey is assured.
So, what are you waiting for? Pack your bags, hop on and head to Vancouver Island. Bring your nature-expedition bucket list and check them all here. Plan your bear watching adventure in advance and finish it by choosing the right tour operator. For more information regarding selecting the best grizzly bear watching tour operator on Vancouver Island, please feel free to contact our team.

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Grizzly Bear Viewing FAQs

Natively grizzly bears do not live on Vancouver Island. But increasing rumors in this regard have made people question it and have raised the curiosity in people for grizzly bear watching on the Island.
According Timescolonist quoting from the mayor of Sayward, there are at least seven grizzly bears inhabiting Vancouver Island right now
Grizzly bears aren’t originally from Vancouver Island, but an abundance of them can be found in Great Bear Rainforest, Knight Inlet, Rivers Inlet, and Bute Inlet.
There are about 26,000 grizzly bears inhabiting Canada of which some live in British Columbia.
Based on what statistics show, there are about 14,000 to 16,000 grizzly bears living in BC.
British Columbia is where most of grizzly bears live in Canada.
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